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Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union (1983: Doomsday)
The Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union or Union of Sovereign Soviet Sibieran Socialist Republics, more commonly known as the Union of Sovereign Socialist Republics (Russian: Союз Суверенных Социалистических Республик CCCP, transliterated as Soyuz Suverennyh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik USSR), also known as Socialist Siberia internationally, the USSR '''for short, the '''Socialist Union and as Соцсоюз in the USSR, is by far the largest and the most powerful country in the world, located in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a constitutionally socialist state, ruled as a single-party state by the Communist Party with its capital in Krasnoyarsk. A union of 13 subnational Soviet or Socialist republics, its government and economy were highly centralized until Doomsday. Socialist Siberia had its root in the Russian Revolution of 1917, which deposed the imperial autocracy. The Bolsheviks of the Social Democratic Labour Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, then led the October Revolution which overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, beginning the Russian Civil War between pro-revolution Reds and counter-revolution Whites. The Red Army entered several territories of the former Russian Empire and organized workers and peasants into soviets under Communist leadership. In 1922, the Communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Following Lenin's death in 1924, a troika collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism and initiated a centrally planned economy. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialisation and collectivisation which laid the basis for its later war effort and dominance after World War II. In the wake of the spread of fascism through Europe, Stalin repressed both Communist Party members and elements of the population by creating an atmosphere of political paranoia and establishing a system of correctional labour camps, the gulag. In the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union with Nazi Germany, initially avoiding confrontation, but the treaty was disregarded in 1941 when the Nazis invaded, opening the largest and bloodiest theatre of combat in history, the Eastern Front. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the cost of acquiring the upper hand over Axis Powers forces at intense battles such as the Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Kursk, and the Siege of Leningrad. Soviet forces eventually drove through Eastern Europe and captured Berlin in 1945, inflicting the vast majority of German losses. Soviet occupied territory conquered from Axis forces in Central and Eastern Europe became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. Ideological and political differences with Western Bloc counterparts directed by the United States led to the forming of economic and military pacts, culminating in the prolonged Cold War. A de-Stalinization period followed Stalin's death, reducing the harshest aspects of society. The Soviet Union then went on to initiate significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including launching the first ever satellite and world's first human spaceflight, which led it into the Space Race. The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis marked a period of extreme tension between the two superpowers, considered the closest to a mutual nuclear confrontation. In the 1970s, a relaxation of relations followed, but tensions resumed with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The occupation drained economic resources and dragged on without achieving meaningful political results. On Doomsday 26 September 1983, a false alarm would accidentally lead to the launch of NATO and Warsaw Pact nuclear missiles and destroyed each other during World War III. The Soviet Union, however, survived the nukes and the remaining political leaders of the Communist Party elected Geydar Aliyev as the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. A year after Doomsday, the provisional socialist government of the Kazakh SSR and Russian SFSR declared themselves as the Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union, and the successor state to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union. A recognized global superpower, Socialist Siberia has by far the largest national economy in the world, and is also the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas. Socialist Siberia has the largest military force in the world, and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction in the world. It is also a permanent member of the League of Nations Security Council. Socialist Siberia is a member of the League of Nations, Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Socialist Interntional, and is the leading member state of the Warsaw Pact, the mutual military alliance of the Eastern Bloc. History Main artice: History of the Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Despite making up around half of the area Soviet Union during the Cold War, north-eastern Kazakhstan, and most of Soviet Siberia and the Russian Far East handled Doomsday fairly well. Although all of the major cities and Russian bases stationed in the area were nuked, the isolated population lived mostly outside these areas, and the vast wilderness surrounding them allowed much of the population and government to escape the radioactive fallout. After the war the surviving population slowly began to come into contact with each other. They soon learned about how a false alarm accidentally lead to the launch of all NATO and Warsaw pact nuclear missiles and destroyed most of known civilization in the northern hemisphere. When they tried to contact the Soviet Union west of the Ural Mountains they also discovered that most people here had been killed in the ensuing chaos. What little remained had fallen into anarchism along with most of the rest of Europe. Understanding this and knowing how important it was to have a strong socialist government to rebuild, the surviving leaders of the Soviet Union came together to discuss how to best handle the situation. Six months after Doomsday, Geydar Aliyev, reaching the western borders of territory still controlled by the USSR, was unanimously elected by the remaining political leaders as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the General Secretary of the Communist Party, owing to his high ranking position in the Andropov government. A little after a year from doomsday on December, 23, 1984, Siberia, the provisional socialist government of Kazakhstan and Russia declared themselves the Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union, and the successor state to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union. Military Main artice: Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union's Socialist Armed Forces The USSR has kept all of the titles and structures of the Soviet Armed Forces, consisting of the Army, Air Force and Navy. The current Minister of Defence is Sergey Shoigu, who also serves as the Secretary General to the CSTO. The Socialist Armed Forces (Russian:Социалистические вооруженные силы) has under its control all of the armies which remained intact during Doomsday which are under the control of the Siberian, Far East, Kazakh, Mongolian and Ural military district, and PRC forces willing to join the USSR. Border patrol units are under the control of the Ministry of Interior (MVD) in the Republics, while the control of the Ural Territory is solely in the hands of the Army. The GRU (Russian:Главное разведывательное управление, meaning Main Intelligence Directorate) currently has roughly 30,000 men in active Spetsnaz units and has adopted the name Vityaz (Russian: Витязь, "Knight") from the MVD for its principle elite Spetsnaz unit. The KGB employs spies but has continued to operate the Alpha (Alfa) Group (also known as Spetsgruppa Alpha, one of the most currently well known Siberian elite units. Men and many women are subject to draft at the age of 18. The draft can be postponed due to continued education. Most universities have an obligatory Military Chair which is in charge of military training of all able-bodied male students to become officers of reserve of a particular military specialty depending on the university. The term of service is 18 months. Draft-dodging is a criminal offense and is punishable by prison time. The Siberian military employs an advanced model of the AK-74 and the AK-74M as its principle assault rifles. The Makarov pistol is in use as well as the Tokarev-90, an advanced version of the original Tokarev-33, now being able to chamber 10 bullets. The Naganat revolver has been issued as a commemorative weapon for retiring generals. New weapons, such as the Saiga-12 shotgun, have also found its way into the Siberian military. Siberian Military District: District Troops (5th Guards Tank Division, 11th Air Assault Brigade), 5th Army (81st Krasnograd Order of the Red Banner Guards, 121st Order of Red Banner Motor Rifle Division, 127th Roslavl Machine-Gun Artillery Division, 129th Machine-Gun Arty Division, 130th Machine-Gun Arty Division), 36th Army (1st Motor Rifle Division, 1st Guards Tank Divison - both formed after Doomsday) Far East Military District: 35th Army (21st Guards Motor Rifle Division, 128th Machinegun-Artillery Division, 270th Motor Rifle Division), 68th Corps (18th Machinegun-Artillery Division, 33rd Motor Rifle Division) Kazakh Military District: 4th Army (131st Motor Rifle Division - formed post-Doomsday) Uyghur Military District: 2nd Army(1st Motor Rifle Division, 34th Guards Artillery Division - formed post-Doomsday) Mongol Military District: 1st Army (mainly former Mongolian forces-2nd, 3rd Motor Rifle Divison, 1st Guards Tank Unit) Ural Military District: 201st Motor Rifle Division, 2nd Army (2nd Guards Tank Army, 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division), 41st Army (85th Motor Rifle Division, 74th Motor Rifle Brigade, Yurga (Constant readiness) ) Manchurian Military District: 7th Army (81st Guards Motor Rifle Division, 129th Guards Machinegun-Artillery Division), 9th Army (various elements of the former Shenyang Military District) Primorskaya Territory Military District: 42nd Army (125th Guards Machinegun-Artillery Divison, 85th Guards Motor Rifle Division, 23rd conscript battalion) Russian Confederate Military District: 6th Guards Armoured Division, 6th Guards Division, 206th Motor Rifles Division, 6th Motor Rifles (Mechanized) Division The Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Air Force ( Russian:Воздушные силы) consists mainly of units who managed to escape targeted airbases during Doomsday and as such, hosts a wide array of planes. The 11th Air Army managed to escape largely intact, as well as elements from the 8th Air Defence Corps, the 21st Air Defence Corps, 5th Air Army and other units such as bombers which were deployed during the nuclear holocaust. Planes such as the Su-24, Su-25, Tu-22M, MiG-25, as well as newly produced, such as the MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30 and Su-35 continually defend the USSR air space and are real assets to the military. Helicopters, such as the Kamov Ka-50, Mil Mi-24 and Mil Mi-28 are also in use. The total of the active aircraft fighters, bombers and helicopters are at over 10,000 aircraft. making the air force the largest in the world. The Air Force is divided into the same districts as the Armed Forces, providing much needed aerial reconaissance and ground support to troops on the front lines. The Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Navy (Russian:Военно-морской флот) consists of the mostly intact Pacific Ocean Fleet and the remnants of the other former Soviet fleets that made their way to friendly safe ports after September 26th. The Siberians have inacted several projects to improve the current situation of the navy like building the Kreml class aircraft carrier, the Soyuz which is the flagship of the new USSR's navy. Slava class guided missile cruiser, such as the Chervona Ukrayina, Fleet Admiral Lobov as well as the newly built Komsomolets and Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya ("October Revolution") are also active. All of the former Soviet Union aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered battlecruisers who survived the nuclear missile attacks, like ''Moscow''-class helicopter carrier, ''Kiev''-class aircraft carrier, [[Project 1153 Eagle (1983: Doomsday)|Project 1153 Orel]], ''Ulyanovsk''-class aircraft carrier, [[Project 1160 Orel II (1983: Doomsday)|Project 1160 Orel II]], ''Admiral of the Fleet of the Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov''-class aircraft carrier, [[Project 1020 Khalzan (1983. Doomsday)|Project 1020 Khalzan]], [[Project 1178 Ivan the Tarawa (1983: Doomsday)|Project 11 780 Ivan the Tarawa]], ''Shtorm''-class aircraft carrier, and the super-heavy ''Vladimir Lenin''-class aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered guided-missile battlecruisers like the Kirov-class battlecruiser are still in active service, making it by far the world's largest navy. The Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Strategic Rocket Forces (Strategic Missile Troops, Russian: Ракетные войска стратегического назначения) are an arm of service (Rod) of the Socialist Armed Forces that controls Siberian land-based ICBMs. It was first formed in the Soviet Armed Forces, and when the USSR collapsed in 1983, it effectively changed its name from the Soviet to the Socialist Strategic Rocket Forces. Surviving missile launchers were mostly theatre-based, such as the OTR-23 Oka, TR-1 Temp and short-range, such as the OTR-21 Tochka. Other surviving launch vehicles include the RSD-10 Pioneer. The RT-23 Molodets series of train-based missiles was revived in the mid-ninties, and the RT-2PM Topol designs were used and testing was finished in the early 2000s. All of the currently known nuclear missiles currently in possession of the USSR were salvaged from before the war. All in all, the USSR controls 125 mobile missile launchers, while the current number of silos in action is around 30. They have 60 operational ICBMs capable of launching 300 nuclear warheads. The number of theater-based nuclear missiles is classified. The SRF also seems to be responsible for the protection of SAF chemical and biological weapons as well. In total, the USSR possesses over 45,000 nuclear warheads, the largest in the world. Biopreparat is the USSR's major biological warfare agency, which was created in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. It has a network of laboratories around the country, as well as a laboratory in Aralia, on Vozrozhdeniya Island. Other locations include the Berdsk bioweapons production facility in Berdsk and the Stepnagorsk Scientific and Technical Institute for Microbiology in Stepnogorsk. It is headed by colonel Kanatzhan Alibekov. The Socialist Armed Forces have around 950,000 men and women currently serving in the military, while a sizeable amount of volunteers exists as well, who form the military's reserves. The USSR has the largest military budget in the world, at $720 billion, surpassing the $700 billion military budget of the United States, the $500 billion military budget of the People's Republic of China, and the $360 billion military budget of India. Politics & Society Through reforms made by Chairman Tuleyev, Soviet politics have been made more democratic and akin to Lenin's designs; a democratic-socialist form of Communism is the dominant ideology. Citizens over the age of 18 freely engage in elections, choosing the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet every 5 years, although the one-party system is still in place. Citizens have the right to freely gather, the freedom of speech and press, but the KGB still has the right to invade people's privacy so it could gain information on dissidents and the agency's influence on everyday life is quite strong. The propaganda machine is as active as ever, trying to legitimize this invasion of privacy by stating that the government has done wonders in keeping it's citizens safe, which is more than true in the post-nuclear age. The larger cities are crowded and officials give incentives for people to move to smaller cities and villages. There is no law regulating the amount of children a family can have and abortion is legal. Same sex marriages, however, are not. Through reforms, faith has also been established as a personal choice and it is not frowned upon. The number of Orthodox Christians, led by the Patriarch of all Russians in Exile, has risen over the years and account for 58.7% of the population. The rest are mainly Buddhist (19.5%) Muslim (11.9%) or atheist/agnostic (10.9%). The Patriarch's main residence is the Odigitrievsky Cathedral in Ulan-Ude, from where he preaches peace and reconciliation with past enemies. Culture Music Since contact with the rest of the world became more frequent in the ninties, Siberia has experienced a wave of Western cultural influence, which led to the development of many previously unknown phenomena in the USSR's culture. Siberia has been adopting a number of cultural techniques, while providing its own content. The most vivid example, perhaps, is the Siberian rock music, which takes its roots both in the Western rock and roll and heavy metal, and in traditions of the Russian bards of Soviet era, like Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava. Krasnoyarsk, Sovetskaya Gavan and Ulan-ude have become the main centers of development of the rock music. At the same time Siberian pop music developed from what was known in the Soviet times as estrada into full-fledged industry, with some performers gaining international recognition. Classical music, as well as ballet and opera, which had a a long tradition in the past has once again started to bring new and talented young composers to the forefront. Visual Arts Art is still predominated by socialist realism, although nonconformist works are not frowned upon any more and artists are permitted to open up galleries of their own, if they choose to do so. Literature Along with other forms of art, literature movements had to be rebuilt from scratch after Doomsday. These new Post-Doomsday works were based in tradition but were heavily influenced by the nuclear destruction. An era of Neoromanticism of sorts has been taking hold in Siberia, lamenting the destruction of the country, emulating the works of the countries golden age. Science fiction has also become a most popular genre, and time travel, along with space travel have been the predominant themes in these works. Parallel dimensions have also been popular in a new movement of graphic novels which combine the bleak settings of a post-apocalyptic world and Chinese Manhua way of drawing. It has had limited success in Korea and Japan, as their existence has not been widely publicized. Economy Main article: Economy of the Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union, Economy of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of Russia Siberian industry produces metals and metal products, textiles, vehicles, agricultural equipment, and construction materials. Most of the industrial centres lie on an east-west axis along the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was rebuilt to the Pacific coast city of Sovetskaya Gavan in 1987. It remains, along with newer lines, such as the Baikal-Amur Railway (completed in 1990) and the Amur-Yakutsk-Magadan Mainline (completed 1993), the major regional transport link. Other links include the railway through Mongolia, linking up with Ulan Bator, as well as links to the former Lanxin railway, linking with Kazakhstan and the RSFSR, in Tselinograd and Barnaul, respectively. The lines were linked in 1994 and 1996. Because of the difficulty of building roads and railways on permafrost, shipping and air transport has assumed increasing importance in both travel and transport. Agriculture in the Socialist Union is extremely limited by harsh climate and poor soils. Excellent soils are present, however, in the west and south-west, from the Ural Mountains to Lake Baikal and in the south-east along the Amur river. The region's principal crops include wheat, oats, rye, barley, and sunflowers; livestock-raising and dairy production are also important. Crops grown in eastern Siberia include potatoes, grain, sugar beet, and flax. In the far eastern part of the region, people herd reindeer for their milk, flesh, and hides.The cultivable area is continually being expanded, especially to the north. Siberia also has significant timber and fishing industries. The Socialist Union is especially rich in mineral resources, most notably coal, gold, iron ore, natural gas, and oil. Siberian mines formerly supplied the majority of Russia's gold, making the country one of the world's largest producers. Vast reserves of natural gas and oil are located in the region. A pipeline connects refineries in Irkutsk in central Siberia to the Pacific coast cities of Magadan and Sovetskaya Gavan. There are also important deposits of uranium, nickel, copper, manganese, diamonds, tin, and cobalt. Large hydroelectric power plants are installed in Siberia near Bratsk, and Krasnoyarsk. Mongolia has rich mineral resources, and copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold account for a large part of industrial production. The majority of the population outside urban areas participate in subsistence herding; livestock typically consists of sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and Bactrian camels. Agricultural crops include wheat, barley, potato, vegetables, tomato, watermelon, sea-buckthorn and fodder crops. Industries include construction materials, mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, tin, tungsten, and gold), oil, food and beverages, processing of animal products, and cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing. Uyghurstan is known for its fruits and produce, including grapes, melons, pears, cotton, wheat, silk, walnuts and sheep. Uyghurstan also has large deposits of minerals and the oil and gas extraction industry in Aksu and Karamay is booming. The rural population of Manchuria is heavily concentrated in the warmer southern part of the area, where very warm to hot summer weather permits crops such as maize and millet to be grown with high yields. Soybeans and flax are also very important, as are wheat and barley. The region possesses large flocks of sheep, and pigs are abundant in the more densely settled southern part. The northern half of Heilongjiang is so cold and poorly drained that agriculture is almost impossible; however, the Amur River provides very rich fishing prospects, and sheep are even more abundant than in southern Heilongjiang. Manchuria is a traditional industrial base, focusing mainly on equipment manufacturing. Major industries include the steel, automobile, aircraft manufacturing, and petroleum refining industries. The government is initiating plans to rebuild the destroyed industries of Manchuria, which has yielded substantial revenue over the years. The Socialist Union is one of the most important exporters of military equipment in the world and, alongside its mineral exports, accounts for a significant share of the countries GDP. Today, Socialist Siberia is the world's second largest national economy, and has spent almost $10 trillion to rebuild the country. New Moscow, the capital and largest city, has in the last years emerged from the ruins left after Doomsday as the financial capital of the USSR, and the financial centre of Eastern Europe with the completion of Moscow International Business Center (MIBC, Moscow City). Even New Leningrad, Siberia's second largest city, has also been fully rebuilt and has emerged as Siberia's northenmost financial centre with the completion of New Leningrad International Business Center (LIBC, New Leningrad-City). The nominal GDP reached $29.12 trillion, while the GDP by purchasing power parity (PPP) reached $29.78 trillion in 2018, making the Siberian economy by far the largest national economy in the world. Transport Currently, the USSR has the largest network of working railways in the world, as the majority of the lines were unharmed in Siberia, save for the struck cities. When Uyghuristan and Mongolia joined the USSR, Mongolia already had a link to the Trans-Siberian railroad via Ulan-Ude and Borzya, respectively. Uyghuristan, although having a stable connection via the North Xinjiang Railway, later renamed the Uyghur Railway, the two gauges did not match. At first, this was not problematic, but as trade increased and as Manchuria entered the USSR as well, they decided to standardize the gauge. Work on the project started in 1993 and ended in 1995. Further work on the Uyghur Railway expanded to Altay in 1997 when it was connected to the Trans-Siberian Railway thorugh the town of Aktash. Work ended in 2002. Federal motorways were also left largely operable after the war, although maintenance dwindled after Doomsday, as more emphasis was given to maintaining railways. But by the late nineties, the situation improved and modern, new roads were built. Funding, however, is still significantly lower than for railways. Air travel is not uncommon in the USSR, but is expensive, while the majority of airports cater mostly to international flights. Administrative division The USSR is a union of 13 Soviet or Socialist republics. During the early years of turmoil, the new USSR was composed of solely of the Russian Far East and Siberia, while the remains of the Kazakh SSR were mostly partners in a crumbling country. Later, with the rise of Geydar Aliyev and the official proclamation of the Union of Sovereign Soviet Siberian Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union, the borders were solidified, forming the basis of expansion. In 1987, the Alaskan Autonomous Territory was created after an agreement with the ANZUS pact members on new borders in Alaska. This was the first territory the country had formed Thus on May 25th 1989, the Union experienced its first expansion, with Mongolia and Uyghuristan being added as the newest republics of the USSR. A year later, northern Manchuria was invaded and a second territory, the Manchurain Territory, was formed. Manchuria was officially proclaimed a republic of the Union in November of 1995. The next territory to be created was the Ural Territory in 1997, consisting of border territories in Russia and Kazakhstan, which are slated to be reintroduced into their respective republics in 2011. The latest Siberian conquest came in March of 2010, as the rest of the Russian Far East was captured and organized into the Primorskaya Territory. Future expansion is expected to drive towards the Provisional RSFSR, which will then hold a referendum on becoming a part of the USSR. Socialist republics of the Union (full members of the Union): *Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of Russia - 17,075,400 km² *Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic - 2,724,900 km² *Manchurian Soviet Socialist Republic - 1165,000 km² *People's Republic of Mongolia - 1,566,000 km² *Uyghur Socialist Republic - 1,200,000 km² *Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic - 603,700 km² *Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic - 207,595 km² *Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic - 143,100 km² *Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic - 186,043 km2 *Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic - 447,400 km2 *Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic - 199,900 km2 *Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic - 491,210 km2 *Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic - 33,846 km2 Space Program Ever since the destruction of Baikonur on Doomsday and the Salyut 7 Crisis, the USSR has struggled to make advances in space exploration. Only after the first years of restructuring did the Siberian government focus on getting back to space. A new cosmodrome, the Vostochny Cosmodrom, was built in the Amur Oblast in 1998 and contact with some remaining satellites was re-established. Plans included building the planed Mir space station, launching the GLONASS (Russian: ГЛОНАСС, abbreviation of ГЛОбальная НАвигационная Спутниковая Система; tr.: GLObal'naya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema; "GLObal NAvigation Satellite System" in English) satellite network and other ambitious scientific projects. So far, the agency has succeeded in successfully launching a GLONASS test satellite named "Tsiklon" (Russian: Циклон) and "Unity" (Russian: единство), while the Mir Space Station is still in early planning stages and serious development will begin sometime after 2020. The agency still employs older, reliable satellites, such as the Molniya military communication satellites, which is also used to broadcast the Siberian television network, the Meteor weather observation satellites and the occasional Foton scientific satellite. Future plans are quite ambitious. However, budget problems, the unwillingness of some LoN members and technical issues have slowed down space exploration till earthly issues are dealt with first. The Authority for Space Operations (LoNASO) was, however, able to finish the all phases of the GLONASS network and it is hoped that this cooperation will bring the nations closer together on other issues both in space and in geopolitical matters. Category:Nations (1983: Doomsday) Category:1983: Doomsday